Ski bindings have evolved from fairly simplistic forms to more sophisticated designs intended to provide skiers with improved flexibility and safety. Bindings for Alpine skiing have almost uniformly been affixed to the skis. This is because downhill skiing requires shifting one's weight, using ski edges, and maintaining proper balance. Mastering these techniques would be difficult without having the bindings fixed to the skis.
During the first 3–5 seconds of a race, the racer “skates” in order to achieve the highest rate of speed in the shortest amount of time possible. Critical to this effort is a stable glide by each ski over the snow, requiring movement of a skier's center of gravity over each foot to keep the ski gliding flat in the snow and setting for a strong push to the other leg. The longer a ski edge is in contact with the snow, the faster a racer can skate and accelerate. Bindings that are fixed to the skis will limit the amount of surface contact that will occur between the snow and the ski edge. Thus a need exists for a new binding that will allow a racer to skate faster by allowing the ski to remain in contact with the snow for a greater amount of time during the skating interval, but which also exhibits the benefits of fixed connections between the bindings and the skis during the downhill portion of a race.
Downhill ski racers also often add lifts or plates between their ski boots and the skis to make carving turns easier. A binding that provides greater contact between the ski and the snow, and which additionally assists a racer with carving turns will provide a racer with advantages that will lead to huge success in a sport where the difference between 1st and 20th place finishes is often under a second.
Some bindings have been developed that allow a skier to convert between cross-country style use or an Alpine style. Others allow a complete conversion between styles, but all of these require the conversion to be performed at a stand-still and require the skier to adjust some feature such as a latch of the binding to effect the change. Thus, a need exists for a binding that can automatically switch or lock its configuration after some predetermined point of time.